


While we're sharing...

by HammerToFall



Series: James and Teddy [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coming Out, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:51:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12166548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HammerToFall/pseuds/HammerToFall
Summary: James and Teddy come out to Harry and Ginny-This is a sequel to 'It does OK... it does mean something', and also links into a Scorbus fic I'm working on but haven't posted yet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally the final few chapters to another fic I'm writing, but a couple of people have requested it so I'm posting it as a standalone piece.
> 
> It picks up just after Albus has come out to his parents and told them that he is seeing Scorpius. Ginny already knew, because come on, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Harry was characteristically overwhelmed by this news, but having gotten over the initial shock is OK with it, and trying his best to be a supportive parent.

Albus was alone in his room working on his charms homework, when there was a knock and his brother's muffled voice came through the door.

"Hey bro, it's me. You got a minute?"

Albus sighed. He was actually making good progress with his essay and really didn’t have time for James's shit right now.

"What do you want?" He demanded moodily.

The door opened and James stood in the doorway, looking uncharacteristically serious.

"Just to talk. Please?"

This took Albus by surprise. 

"Um... OK, sure" he said, putting his quill down. James took a seat on his bed and Albus turned his desk chair around to face him. 

"So mum read me the riot act when she told me" James said. "She said under no circumstances am I allowed to joke about it, or bully you about it. In fact I'm not allowed to even mention it at all, unless YOU say you want to talk about it."

Albus wasn't sure if James was talking about the gay thing or about the Scorpius thing. He also wasn't sure why James was telling him this.

"OK..." he replied, confused.

"She really must think I'm an arse, if she really thinks I'd bully you about this."

Albus still didn’t know why James was telling him all this, so he said nothing and waited for James to go on.

"Look Al, I know you probably don't want to talk about this with me. But... I don't want to _not_ talk about it either. I don't want it to be this weird taboo thing we're not allowed to talk about. I know I'm not always... But this whole thing shouldn't be made into a big deal. Because it isn't."

Albus let that sink in for a minute.

"That's what you came here to tell me?" He asked. "That me being gay isn't a big deal?"

James rolled his eyes.

"Well it sounds kind of stupid when you put it like that..."

"No, it's not stupid" Albus said quietly.

Truthfully he was very moved. This was the absolute last thing he expected when his brother had knocked on his door. And he found that it was exactly what he needed to hear. And he felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude. He went over to the bed and hugged James, who seemed surprised, but returned the hug. He was smiling when they broke apart.

"Thanks" Albus muttered, slightly embarrassed now. James looked a little awkward too. They probably hadn't hugged in years. Albus sat on the other end of bed and James cleared his throat.

"I guess that probably seems a little hypocritical coming from me, but..." James muttered, looking down at the floor.

"Well I WAS kind of expecting you to give me a whole load of shit about this to be honest” Albus smiled. But I guess you're cooler than I thought."

"I am very cool" James agreed, looking up and grinning. "I still can't get over the fact that you just _came out_ to them like that though. Just like that" James shook his head in disbelief. "You really are the bravest person I know, Al."

Albus blushed a little. Compliments from James were exceedingly rare. 

"Full disclosure - I kind of thought they already knew" Albus admitted. James raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really? I mean, I had my suspicions. But _mum and dad_? Come on, they're completely clueless."

This revelation took Albus by surprise. Bloody hell, first mum and now James, he thought. Am I really that predictable?

"And hey don't worry about Robo-Dad. He just needs to reprogram his circuits with the new information." James grinned, but Albus (who had never taken muggle studies) just looked blankly back at him again.

"Because he's like a robot. He doesn't have feelings." James explained.

"What's a robot?" Albus asked, confused. James laughed.

"Bloody hell Al, were you not going out with a muggle born all last year? Didn't you pick anything up?"

Albus blushed.

"I didn't know you knew about that" he said shyly.

"I can put two and two together Al" James said smugly. "Overnight you became best mates with a quidditch player? Come on."

Albus merely shrugged, unsure what to say about this. He supposed to an outsider it must have seemed weird, that he and Mark spent so much time together. But it never occurred to him that his brother actually noticed anything Albus did.

"You have no idea how much confusion that caused in my social circle" James laughed. "What did the two of you even talk about?"

"We... didn’t do an awful lot of talking..." Albus admitted, his cheeks burning. James laughed even more.

"Look at you Al" he said, impressed.

"Yeah... well..." Albus replied bashfully.

"You and Scorpius seem like a much better match" James said. "A lot more in common."

"Yeah" Albus replied smiling. "Yeah, it's much better. I thought dad was going to have a heart attack when I told him though."

"Don't worry about dad" James repeated firmly.

"I'm not _worried_ , I just... it's hard, you know?"

"I know" James said quietly. "Him and mum were arguing about it last night while you weren't here."

"They were?" Albus asked, sitting up a little straighter. 

"Yeah. She told him he needs to suck it up and at least pretend he's OK even if he's not. He said he is OK but he just doesn't know what he's supposed to do."

Albus shook his head in frustration.

"What he's _supposed_ to do? He doesn't have to do ANYTHING other than NOT be such a tool about it."

James looked conflicted.

"I think he's trying Al. It's just... awkward, you know?"

"It's not awkward for anyone else. It's not awkward for you."

"Yeah well, that's not really a fair comparison is it? Also, I'm not your dad. I'm not supposed to be giving you life advice."

"But you are" Albus pointed out.

"Yeah well, someone has to don't they?" James said smiling again. "Hey, do we need to talk about the birds and the bees?"

Albus snorted.

"It's a bit late for that. Besides, dad did already ask me about it."

"What? Seriously?" James laughed.

"Seriously. It was a very brief conversation but still humiliating."

"Wow, I would pay good money to see dad trying to talk to you about sex" James was highly amused now. "Do you think he even knows how gay sex works?"

"Urgh, I don't want to know" said Albus, and they both laughed. 

"Seriously though" James said, when he stopped laughing. "I know it's a bit weird, but if you ever do want to... like, if there's stuff you don't know... you can talk to me, OK?"

Albus raised his eyebrows. This was way above the brotherly call of duty in his opinion.

"Umm, thanks but that's OK" he said. "No offence but I'm not sure you totally know everything about it either."

James laughed.

"Wow, harsh" he gave Albus a playful punch on the arm.

"No, James, I didn’t mean it like that” Albus replied earnestly. “I just mean... I mean, it's not the same, is it? I know you're older and everything but you still probably don't know all much about gay sex." 

James frowned at him in confusion.

"And that's OK" Albus added. "I wouldn't expect you to. But don't worry, I've picked up... the things I need to know."

James continued to frown at Albus, scrutinizing him. He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. Albus raised his eyebrows again, as if to say 'what?'

"Al" James said quietly but clearly. "You do know that I'm gay, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

James studied Albus's reaction and watched it slowly dawn on him that he was serious.

"I... you... what???"

"I swear Al, I thought you knew" James insisted. "Christ I would have told you sooner if I didn't."

"You're gay?"

"Yes."

"No you're not."

"I assure you little brother, I am."

Albus scowled at him for a few moments in silence.

"You're serious" he said finally. It wasn't a question.

"Yes, fucking hell, for once in my life I am being 100% serious" James replied irritably, getting tired of having to defend himself.

"Fuck, James!"

Albus got up and started pacing up and down the bedroom. He looked very angry, which James considered a bit of an overreaction. But Al always was dramatic like that.

"Did you even...? What were you...? WHY have you kept it a secret for this long???" Albus burst out, gesturing wildly.

"Come on Al, I don't need to bloody tell you how hard it is to tell people. Especially our dad."

"That's exactly the fucking point!" Albus stopped pacing to face James. He wasn't shouting exactly, but he definitely wasn't speaking calmly. "Do you know how shit that was? How fucking awful it was to have him look at me, like, 'what's wrong with you?' And do you not think that might have gone a little smoother if maybe he knew that his _favourite_ son was also gay?"

A ringing silence followed. James was hurt by this. Mostly because they both knew there was some truth in that. But it wasn't like he had chosen for it to be that way. Al was just quiet and sulky and passive aggressive. Even BEFORE he was a teenager he was difficult. And their dad just didn’t know how to deal with that. None of them did, really. Except maybe mum, sometimes.

James also reflected on the fact that himself being in the closet probably had made things harder for Albus. He hadn't considered that. But then, it's not like he knew Al was planning to come out. And anyway, that worked both ways.

"Don't put this on me" James replied, defensively. "YOU chose to tell him, without consulting me first, so you get what you get Al. And has it occurred to you that now it's a thousand times more difficult for ME to tell him? Because now it'll be 'oh bloody hell, not you too.'"

"Boo fucking hoo" Albus retorted furiously. "It must be so hard for you James, always being such a _disappointment_ to him. Oh wait no, that's me!"

"Cry me a river Al" James said dismissively. He was running out of patience for Albus's angsty bullshit. "You don’t help yourself you know. Always pushing everyone away. Including me. Maybe if you opened your fucking eyes once in a while you'd see that people around you actually care about you."

Albus's angry expression softened slightly at those words, but the moment was brief. After only a few seconds of silence he launched himself back into the argument.

"Oh yeah, you must REALLY care about me, keeping such a huge secret from me our entire lives. Even though you knew it was something we had in common. You didn't think it would be helpful at all to mention it?"

"Fuck, Al, did I not say I thought you already knew?" James bristled. This was so typical of Albus. So determined to play the victim that he wouldn't even listen to reason. "I even said you can ask me anything you want. I'm TRYING to do the big brother thing here, will you just fucking let me, for once?"

Albus begrudgingly sat back down on the bed. He was still pouting but at least he had shut up. James took a deep breath and tried to let go of his own anger and annoyance at the little brat. He reminded himself that it was hard for Al to let people in.

"I'm sorry Al" he said calmly. "We should have had this conversation a long time ago."

"So why didn't we?" Albus's tone and demeanour were still very sulky, but James had to admit, it was a fair question. He sighed heavily.

"My situation is... complicated" he said carefully.

Albus snorted.

"More complicated than sleeping with Draco Malfoy's son?"

"Yes, more complicated than that!" James snapped, flaring up again. "You don't have a monopoly on complicated you know."

Albus gave him a filthy look, but apparently curiosity got the better of him and instead of a scathing retort, he asked, quite calmly:

"What's going on James?"

James sighed heavily again. He looked at his brother appraisingly, wondering if he could trust him. Well, the kid had proved that he could keep a secret, that was for sure. And he did kind of feel like he owed Al one.

"The thing is... telling dad about me... Well, it wouldn't just affect me. There are other things at stake here..."

Albus said nothing and waited calmly for him to go on. James looked into Albus's face. He looked mildly concerned, but overall quite calm and level. As though whatever James was about to say, he was sure it would be OK. James took a minute to really appreciate his brother for this. The guy was pretty easy to talk to, once you got past the snarkiness.

"My situation doesn't just involve me. It's involves... Teddy, too."

There was a moment of silence while Albus digested that. James sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, waiting for the reaction. Albus's face was unreadable, apart from shock.

"So... you and him...?"

James nodded.

Albus's expression turned to disgust.

"Eurgh"

"FUCK!" Exclaimed James, instantly regretting deciding to share his secret. "Thank you, for THAT"

Albus seemed to come to his senses and hastily rearranged his expression to something more mild. But there was definitely still some repulsion in there.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to..." He said. "But he's like our _brother_!"

James felt his cheeks flush. Those were exactly the words he did NOT want to hear.

"No, he's like YOUR brother" he insisted. "He's MY best friend… Who I just kind of, fell in love with..."

Albus seemed to be having an internal struggle between reason and revulsion. 

"What so it's OK for _you_ to date your best friend but not me?" James demanded.

Albus was looking pained.

"But we grew up together…" he said.

"So?" James said, defensively. "How is that any different to mum and dad? They mostly grew up together!" This was a favourite counter argument of his, that he had rehearsed many times in his head.

"He called dad ' _dad_ ' once" Albus whispered. James felt his cheeks burn again. He remembered that quite vividly, as he and Teddy had only just started seeing each other at the time, and things had been very weird between them for weeks afterwards as a result. 

"We're not ACTUALLY related though" he said desperately. 

"No..." Albus conceded, but he still didn't look convinced. He glanced at James, which seemed to centre him. He shook his head and his expression was much more calm as he spoke.

"No sorry, you're right. It's not that weird. There's nothing wrong with it. I guess…"

"Thanks" James said sincerely. He really needed to hear that.

"So… Teddy's gay..." Albus mused to himself.

"Obviously. Well technically he's bi, but sure, yeah."

"Shit, is ANYONE in this family straight?"

"Come off it Al, you're not saying you didn’t know about Teddy? Jesus, do you not pay attention to the people around you, like at all?"

Albus continued to look mildly shellshocked. James actually laughed.

"I know I play it quite close to the chest but _come on_ , I figured Teddy out years ago. He took me to my first gay club when I was... Well, I was about your age, actually.” James had to supress a laugh as he imagined taking Albus to a gay club. He couldn’t think of a single scenario that would make either of them more uncomfortable.

“You really didn't know?" he added. Albus shook his head.

James smiled somewhat sadly at him. The kid really did live in his own world. He wished he knew how to reach him a bit better sometimes. Well, this was a start, he supposed. 

"You know dad's going to freak out, right?" Albus said quietly, looking sideways at James. 

"Yeah, I know" James replied the smile sliding from his face. "You understand, now?"

"Yeah I get it" he sighed. "Sorry if I made it worse."

James scooted over on the bed and put an arm around his little brother's shoulders.

"Forget that. That was a selfish thing to say. You don't have to worry about my shit, OK?"

"I know I don't have to, but I still will" Albus said earnestly.

James ruffled Albus's messy hair affectionately ignoring Albus's protests.

"You're alright when you're not being a brat, you know" he said as he stood up to leave.

"You're alright when you're not being a dick" Albus called after him as he exited the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Teddy didn't even turn around as he heard James climbing out of the fireplace behind him. He continued to stir the spag bol on the cooker. He waited for James to do what he always did, which was sneak up on him from behind and snake his arms round his chest, kissing the back of his neck. They had been together for nearly 2 years now, but feeling Jamie's lips softly touching his neck still drove Teddy crazy. However nothing happened, so after a few moments of waiting, Teddy turned around in confusion. 

James was stood there in the middle of the room, clutching a bottle of firewhisky, looking mildly upset. It was a fairly small, open plan flat. James was in the living room, next to the sofa, but it only took Teddy about 3 strides to get to him. Without preamble he wrapped his arms around him, enveloping James in the hug. James breathed in deeply and Teddy turned his head to kiss the top of James's, through his thick red curls.

"Tell me" he whispered, simply.

"Al came out to mum and dad" James said quietly, his voice muffled as his face was still pressed against Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy released James, who put the bottle down on the coffee table and started taking off his jacket.

"You're shitting me?"

"I shit you not" James replied grimly.

Teddy swore under his breath, retreating back to the cooker to turn everything off. Food would have to wait. He grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard and joined James on the sofa. James poured them each a generous measure while Teddy lit up a cigarette. James wrinkled his nose as the smoke wafted over to him.

"Do you have to?"

"If this is going where I think it is, then yes" Teddy replied calmly. He was certain they were about to revisit the idea of coming out themselves, and he was not mentally equipped to face that conversation without a cigarette.

James looked broodingly into his glass and Teddy gently took his other hand, putting the cigarette down in the ashtray on the table.

"It'll be OK" he said, firmly. 

James nodded, although he didn't look like he believed a word of it, and silently sipped his drink.

"So Al was the one to bite the bullet then?" Teddy said, a smile creeping onto his face in spite of himself. "Not like him, to throw himself in at the deep end without considering the consequences." 

James snorted into his glass and gave Teddy a genuine smile.

"You should have heard him earlier: 'I'm such a disappointment to my father'. You'd think the world was bloody ending."

Teddy chuckled as he picked his cigarette back up, but reflected darkly that himself and James had expressed similar sentiments when considering the idea themselves in the past.

"And he was FURIOUS at me, for not telling him that I'm gay"

"What? I thought he knew?"

"Yeah so did I, but apparently he walks around with his fucking eyes shut. He didn't know about you either."

"What, am I that obvious?" Teddy asked playfully, ruffling his bright blue quaffed hair with his matching painted fingernails. James laughed.

"Only to those in the know, darling." He ran a hand through his own hair wearily.

"I dunno Ted, this thing with dad and Al... do I make it worse? I mean, is it in any way my fault?"

Teddy slapped James on the back of the head. He cried out in protest but Teddy sat up straight, towering over him sternly.

"Say something that stupid again and I'll hit you much harder" he said.

James smiled begrudgingly at him and refilled their glasses.

"I told Al about us" he said quietly.

"Oh yeah?" Teddy replied, warily.

"Yeah" James sighed. "It went exactly as well as I expected..."

"What did he say?" Teddy asked, his eyes narrowed in concern. James looked Teddy in the eye.

"You know what he said."

"The brother thing?"

"The brother thing."

Teddy sighed heavily. This was something they had struggled with their entire relationship. They had always felt like it would be difficult to justify that they WEREN'T brothers, because that's how everyone saw them. They of course weren't blood related. And Teddy had lived with Andromeda growing up. But he had spent a lot of time at Harry's house, and had come to regard Harry as a mixture of father and uncle. But that didn't make James his _brother_. James was his best mate. 

James had come out to Teddy at the age of 17 and it hadn't made any difference to their friendship. And after James left school they would go out to clubs together or hang out at Teddy's flat watching quidditch or muggle movies. The fact that they were both gay (or at least partially) never had any bearing on their relationship at all. Until James hit his twenties, and suddenly the six year age gap didn't seem so significant anymore. And there had always been light and playful flirting for pretty much all of their adult lives. But it had always been in a jokey way before. But now it suddenly seemed charged with sexual tension. So it was only a matter of time before they drunkenly fell into bed together. 

They had both tried to pretend it was a mistake and agreed to forget about it. But things were awkward after that. Because maybe it was a mistake to James, but Teddy didn't regret it at all. And he couldn't get James out of his head. Every second they spent together was agony, with Teddy longing to touch him. To kiss him. And eventually he couldn't stand it anymore so he did exactly that. James came to his office at work for something or other (probably fetching something for Harry) and Teddy had shoved him up against the desk, kissing him like his life depended on it.

And James had kissed him back with that same intensity and Teddy had apparated them both back to his apartment so they could fall back into bed together. And afterwards James had told him that it wasn't a mistake and that he had been a coward before for not admitting how he really felt. And Teddy thought his heart would burst from happiness.

But they had agreed not to tell Harry. At least not yet, it was early days after all. Didn't want to jinx it. And both of them were quite keen to avoid all the drama of that revelation anyway.

But now here they were, 2 years down the line. And still they hadn't told Harry. And the longer it went on the worse it was getting. Because it had become this huge deal now that neither of them knew how to deal with. And just thinking about the whole mess made James incredibly sad. And Teddy hated seeing him like that.

He took James glass from his hands and placed it down on the table, before pulling him into another hug. James swung his legs up onto the sofa and shuffled himself down so that he was pretty much lying down, with his head resting on Teddy's chest. Teddy leaned back, wrapping one arm firmly around him and caressing the side of James's face with his other hand. He kissed the top of James's head again.

"I love you" he whispered.

James propped himself up on Teddy's chest and leaned over to kiss him, slowly and softly.

"I love you too" he said, resting his head back down.

"Do you think it's time?" Teddy asked hesitantly.

"I think we've run out of excuses" James said flatly. "I mean, AL beat us to it for fucks sake..."

"Do you think that'll soften the blow, or make it worse?"

"Oh worse, definitely."

Teddy tried to imagine Harry's reaction to finding out all 3 of his sons were gay. Then hastily reminded himself that he was not Harry's son and shuffled uncomfortably at the thought.

James misinterpreted this as discomfort in their current reclined position and made to sit up again, but Teddy pulled him back down.

"You OK?"

"Yeah, just give me a sec, I'm thinking."

"OK, but can I get my drink?" James asked, trying to sit up again. Teddy pulled him back down again.

"No, I'm not done cuddling you yet." 

James laughed and kissed him again. Teddy released him and let him sit up and take another swig of his drink. Teddy absent mindedly lit another cigarette. James scowled at this but said nothing, letting him think.

Harry was not known for taking emotionally loaded news particularly well. He was also visibly out of his depth at times with the whole father thing. Teddy couldn't imagine that it would matter to him that his kids were gay. But he wouldn't know what to do or say about it, that was for sure. The man was extremely awkward with sensitive issues, especially those involving relationships. It was a wonder he ever got married. Teddy supposed that Ginny must have infinite patience for explaining things to him. Yes, having Ginny in the picture was definitely a good thing. She would help talk him round if he was finding it difficult. God knows she had done it enough times about Al. 

But what about finding out that his eldest son was shagging his godson? Teddy couldn't think of any possible way to spin it to make that into good news. There was the whole brother thing for a start. The whole family were probably going to think it was morally wrong in some way. And there was the work thing. Teddy was a low level Auror by profession. He didn't report directly to Harry, but Harry was his boss's boss. And dating the boss's son was a terrible idea for a whole host of reasons. And of course there was the age gap. James was still pretty young really. Still kind of finding himself. Whereas Teddy was about ready to start settling down. This hadn't really been an issue between them so far, but it certainly could be at some point. And what if they broke up? What if they ended up hating each other and it basically tore the family apart?

Teddy looked over at James, who had moved to the other end of the sofa and was waving the smoke out of his face with his hand, holding a glass of whisky in the other. Teddy felt his hardened expression soften as he did so. He couldn't imagine a world in which he could ever hate James Potter. There was nothing in the universe better than waking up to that face.

"Move in with me" he said.

The words left his mouth entirely unplanned. He had thought about it before, of course, but in a vague, fantasy-like way. Not in a serious, planned way. But now it was out there he didn't want to take it back. He looked expectantly at James, who looked surprised but excited.

"Teddy... have you thought about this?"

"Not really" he admitted. "But it makes sense doesn't it? You're about to move to London anyway. I love having you here. I mean, you're here every weekend anyway."

"Yeah but... living together. It's a big step" James's voice was hesitant, but there was a broad smile on his face. Teddy could feel his own face mirroring it.

"Yeah it is. But I think we're ready. Don't you?"

And he really meant it. He was ready. He would love nothing more than coming home to his Jamie every day. 

James grinned broadly and dove over on the sofa to kiss him. Teddy responded enthusiastically, dropping his cigarette into the ashtray and pulling James practically on top of him again.

"Is that a yes?" He asked playfully, when James came up for air.

"One condition" James said, suddenly stern. "YOU quit smoking." 

"Consider it done" he agreed.

"What, just like that?" 

"Yeah, just like that."

"Ha, you won't be saying that in a week when the cravings hit."

"Yeah well, I'll have you to take my mind off it" Teddy growled, kissing James again passionately.

-

"I believe when I agreed to come over there were promises of spag bol" James said cheerfully, some time later as he got dressed, having just gotten out of the shower. 

"Yeah well, something distracted me. I forget, was that you, or...?" Teddy grinned at him as he emerged from the bathroom himself wearing nothing, running a towel over his now short (but still blue) hair.

"Now who's distracting" James said, surveying him up and down with an expression that suggested he liked very much what he was seeing.

"Don't you start that again, or we'll never get any dinner" Teddy said, wrapping the towel around his waist.

James patted him on the bum as he walked past him back out into the kitchen and turned the cooker back on. The pasta had pretty much turned into mush, but there was a spell for that. Teddy looked around the room for his wand.

"Jamie, have you seen my wand" he called.

"Is that a euphemism" James asked, joining him in the kitchen.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, I mean my actual wand" he laughed, and then spotted it, partially underneath a tea towel on the side.

-

James served up the food while Teddy got dressed. Teddy joined him again on the sofa and started to eat. They both ate in silence for a bit, both of them starving, having delayed the meal and worked up quite an appetite.

"You know this means we HAVE to tell dad now, right?" James said eventually.

"Well we said we were going to anyway" Teddy shrugged. He was so happy and content he was finding it hard to feel worried about that right now. 

"Tomorrow?" Teddy asked. 

James choked on his pasta a little.

"That soon?"

"Why wait?"

"Yeah, I guess..." 

James looked worried again.

"Then you could move in here next week" Teddy offered.

"That soon?" James looked mildly surprised, but smiled again.

"Why wait?" Teddy repeated.

 


	4. Chapter 4

James and Teddy flooed back to James's house the next morning. They had tried to have breakfast but were both too nervous to eat much. Teddy had said that they should just get it over with, so here they were. The only problem was, his dad wasn't there. 

"He got called into the office, he only left about half an hour ago" James's mum told them. 

He looked at Teddy, hoping for a suggestion as to what to do.

"What do you need him for?" She asked. 

"Umm..." James looked to Teddy again for support.

"We were hoping to talk to both of you together but..." Teddy said, and then gave James a nod. 

OK, James thought, I guess we're doing this. 

"Mum, can we sit down for a minute" James said, steeling himself.

"Is this about Al?" She asked, looking worried.

James felt a flare of annoyance.

"No, not everything is about Al" he said moodily.

"OK, sorry" she said defensively. "It's just, you know, I heard the two of you arguing last night, before you went over to Teddy's."

"You argued?" Teddy asked, surprised.

"Not really" James shrugged. "Just, you know, usual stuff. He takes everything so personally."

"You didn't upset him did you?" His mother said sternly. "We talked about this James."

"Bloody hell Mum, this is _not_ about Al" James said irritably. He didn't want to get sidetracked. This was hard enough as it was.

"Alright" she sighed, and slid into a seat at the kitchen table. James and Teddy joined her. Teddy took James's hand under the table and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Mum, I need to tell you something. Something important. And it's going to be a bit of a surprise, especially after everything with Al. But that's not why I'm doing this. I mean, I guess it is, but not entirely. You see things are changing and I need to..." He was floundering. Damn it why was it so hard to just say it, he thought. Two words. I'm gay. Just _say_ it.

"Spit it out" Teddy muttered to him.

"I'm gay!" He burst out, the nerves making it come out much louder than intended.

His mother's mouth opened in surprise. Albus poked his head around the doorway, where James assumed he had been lurking, eavesdropping. He smirked, but all the same gave James a supportive thumbs up. 

' _Piss off_ ' James mouthed at him, making a swatting gesture.

His mother turned around in her seat and saw Albus there.

"I... what... are you two playing a joke on me?" She said, looking between James and Albus.

"You're not helping Al" James called to him irritably. "And no Mum, this isn't a joke. I didn't know Al was going to bloody tell you about him, but now he has I figure it's my turn."

"Hmmm" his mother looked at him suspiciously, still unsure if he was pulling her leg or not.

"I'm gay mum. Bloody hell, what else can I say? I shag men. Do you understand?"

"Watch your language" she said automatically frowning.

"I am watching my language. Otherwise I would have said _fucking hell_ " James retorted, thoroughly annoyed with how difficult this was. He hadn't expected to have to try and convince her he wasn't lying.

His mother glowered at him and he fell silent, sure for a moment that he had gone too far. But she said nothing and looked to Teddy for confirmation. He nodded.

"I'm gay too by the way" Teddy added. "You know, while we're all sharing."

"Well of course I knew about you" she said, waving a hand dismissively. James sniggered. "And I knew about Al, that was obvious right from the start. But _you_ , James... I never saw it..." she looked troubled, and James felt sorry for her.

"Well I did my best to hide it" he said gently. "It's OK Mum, you weren't supposed to know."

"Did you feel like you _needed_ to hide it?" She asked, fearfully. James reached his free hand over the table and held one of hers.

"No of course not. I dunno, I was just..." 

"Scared of telling dad?" Albus offered, as he poured himself a glass of orange juice, apparently entirely at ease.

"Albus, do you mind?" James said pointedly.

"What, I'm _helping_ " he said indignantly. "Also, why didn’t you ask ME that?" He demanded of his mother.

"Oh Al you're so secretive about everything" she said. "But not James. AND you've been keeping it a secret for much longer" she said turning back to James.

"Well, there is a reason for that" he said, sighing heavily. He raised his other hand, still grasping Teddy's, from under the table to show her. She merely looked confused for a moment or two, and then, upon realising what she was seeing, broke out into a huge grin.

"You two?! Oh my goodness, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed, getting up and dashing round the table to hug them both, one arm around each of their necks.

"Ugh, thanks mum" James said, pulling on her arm which was choking him slightly. She released them and Teddy looked at him, bewildered. James was as surprised as he was. His mother on the other hand dashed over to Albus to hug him too. As she released him and sat back down at the table all three boys looked at each other incredibly confused. Albus joined them at the table, looking at his mother as though she had gone mad.

"Oh Teddy, you know we've always considered you part of the family, love, but now it's like it's really official" she said happily. "You and our James! It's perfect!"

"So perfect" Albus said dreamily, clearly mocking her. She gave his a light slap on the arm for his cheek, but continued to smile happily at James and Teddy, who were still holding hands, but now had them resting on top of the table.

"Oh, and James is going to move in with me" Teddy said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that bit" James said.

"Charming" Teddy smiled at him.

"I didn’t mean it like that" James smiled back. "Of course I'm excited about that."

Teddy's eyes sparkled as he looked lovingly back at James.

"Ugh, get a room you two" Albus said, getting up from the table, apparently having had enough.

James felt himself blushing a little, and looked rather bashfully at his mother, who was still looking like this was the best news she had ever heard.

"That's wonderful!" She said again. "I was worried about you moving to London by yourself. And Teddy, I've always thought you must be lonely in that flat by yourself. But now you'll have each other!"

"Wow, mum, I wasn't expecting this good of a reaction" James said. He felt extremely relieved, and only mildly embarrassed.

"What, did you think I'd be upset?"

"Not YOU, no" James said pointedly. His mother's smile faltered.

"You want me to owl your father, get him to come home?" She offered.

"No" Teddy said. "If they've called him in on a Sunday it must be important. We'll go and see him at the office."

"Hmmm, are you sure that's a good idea?" James asked sceptically.

"It's fine, he can always come home after we tell him if he wants. Perks of being head of the department, you can do pretty much what you want."

 

-

 

"We're walking into the lion’s den right now, you do realise that?" James said to Teddy as they walked down the eerily empty and echoey atrium at the ministry.

"Hey, you might be glad to have a couple of extra aurors on hand if this gets explosive" Teddy grinned as James presented his wand for inspection at the main desk. After receiving a visitors badge, he followed Teddy into the lift, which took them to the Auror's office.

There were a few levels of security to get through. Something that scanned Teddy's eye, something that he had to stick his wand into. A waterfall that they had to walk through, but came out completely dry on the other side. For some reason this turned Teddy's hair a dull brown.

"My natural colour" he said, in response to James's inquisitive look. James had seen Teddy’s hair brown a handful of times, but he was so used to it being that bright, vivid blue that any other colour looked strange on him

"You mean you're not a natural blue?" He said, feigning shock. Teddy laughed and turned his hair blue again.

"You like the blue. That's why I do it" he said casually.

"Really?" James said. He did indeed like the blue, there was something about it that made Teddy look incredibly sexy. But he had never thought that Teddy chose that colour just for him.

"Well, you know, _I_ like it too" he said bashfully.

"Whoa whoa, you can't take it back now" James said smiling. "You alter your appearance to be more attractive to me. You'll just do ANYTHING to get me into bed, won't you?"

Teddy laughed. 

He told James they were at the final door, and started reciting some code number he had been given. A series of letters, numbers and runes.

As he did so, James looked at him, examining him. His face hadn't changed at all in the waterfall, which meant that he didn't use his metamorphoses to change it. James knew that he used to, when they were younger, just for fun. And then, when they were slightly older, to be more attractive to boys or girls. But nowadays he didn't. James thought he was incredibly handsome, in quite a rugged macho way, with a bit of edge. He had a strong jaw, deep brown eyes and a lip ring on one side. His bright blue hair had soft waves. He wore it slightly swept back, out of his face. James thought it extremely unfair that someone who was able to change their appearance at will got to be so naturally beautiful.

"What are you looking at?" Teddy asked him, but didn't look displeased, as the door in front of them clicked open.

"You don't change your face anymore" James said. "I mean, I guess I know that, but I never really noticed, you know?"

"I'm too old for that shit now" Teddy replied, opening the door and gesturing for James to go in. "I can't be bothered with a new face every day. Besides, judging from the pictures I think I kind of look like my dad. Which is pretty cool."

"Cooler than looking like your mum" James said, tugging on one of his ginger curls.

The floor was mostly deserted, save for a few people in their own offices. They reached a large office about half way down the corridor with a plaque on the door reading:

_Harry Potter_

_Head of the Auror Office_

_Department of Magical Law Enforcement._

Teddy gave James a reassuring smile, knocked on the door, then opened it a little and stuck his head in.

"Hey Harry" James heard him say. "Have you got a minute?"

"Teddy, they didn’t drag you in on this too did they?" His father replied wearily.

"No, above my pay grade" he chuckled. "We just wanted a word." He opened the door wider so that James could also see in.

His father looked surprised. He was frozen in the action of putting different coloured pins in a large map. 

"Everything OK?" He asked.

James didn't answer.

"No, it's fine." Teddy said calmly. He glanced at James. "Want me to take the lead on this one?" he muttered.

"No, he's my dad, I should do it." James muttered back, uncomfortably aware that his father was listening to every word.

"OK, it's just, you told your Mum, so..."

"I said I'll do it" he hissed. Teddy looked a little hurt and James regretted losing his temper. He was just feeling very tightly wound. He also really didn’t want to start bickering in front of his dad. Especially not in light of what they were about to tell him. 

"Sorry" he muttered, and Teddy nodded understandingly.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" His dad asked. 

James sighed.

"Dad, I've got something to tell you" he said. No rambling this time. He was just going to do it. Like ripping off a plaster.

"I'm gay. Me and Teddy are dating. Have been for a while. And we're going to move in together."

His father looked dumbstruck. There was a long, awkward silence where the two of them just stared blankly at each other.

"You maybe should have done that one piece of news at a time" Teddy interjected gently.

"Yeah I know" James said, looking sideways at him. "I'm getting this all backwards today".

Teddy held his hand again. James noticed his father's eyes dart towards their hands as he did so.

"Dad, please say something" he said. "You're freaking me out."

But his father held up a hand to indicate he should shut up, and pinched the bridge of his nose underneath his glasses. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I just... A minute, please..."

Teddy looked very concerned, but James had seen this behaviour before and knew that his dad was just gathering his thoughts.

"He's processing" he whispered to Teddy.

"I have firewhisky in my office" Teddy offered.

"Ted, I don't think that's-" James began, but his father cut him off.

"That's an excellent idea. Let's go."

So they filed out of his father's office, and made their way down the corridor in silence. When they entered Teddy's (much smaller) office, James had an involuntary flashback of Teddy pushing him up against the desk in here, kissing him fiercely. He caught Teddy's eye and knew that he was thinking the same thing. Teddy gave him a wry smile and retrieved a bottle of firewhisky from behind some books on the bookcase behind his desk. He conjured 3 glasses, poured a small measure into each and handed them out. James thought it was a little early to be drinking, so he just held his glass. His father took a large swig and then sank down into a chair in front of Teddy's desk. Teddy took a small sip, but then placed the glass down, taking his usual seat at his desk. James felt bizarrely like he was in some sort of meeting. He dragged another chair from over by the door and sat next to his father.

"So you're... you're both gay?" His father said, finally.

"Yes" James and Teddy said in unison. James looked at Teddy in mild amusement. In fact, Teddy was bisexual and had had relationships with women in the past. But he and Teddy both knew it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to explain that to his father. So for the purposes of this conversation, Teddy was gay.

"All _three_ of you..." His father whispered. James had known this was coming.

"It wasn't anything YOU did, if that's what you're thinking" James said assertively. "You know that's not how it works, right?"

"I know" his father replied, frowning, not looking entirely convinced.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. And I'm sorry to lay this on you so soon after Al did."

"You've spoken to Al, I take it?" His father said, sitting up straight and looking a little more business-like. "Is he OK?"

James had to respect the concerned-father mode kicking in, even if he did have to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Albus thought he was always overlooked and neglected, but in reality his parents spent more time worrying about him than James and Lily combined.

"He's _fine_ dad. You know Al, he likes to feel like he's hard done to. But he'll come around."

His father nodded.

"It caught me by surprise, that was all. I didn’t know what to say. I still don't. But I'll try and do better this time."

James sighed. He did love his brother, and he did feel for the kid, having the weight of being Harry Potter Jr on his shoulders. But he really wished Al would give their dad a break once in a while.

"It's not about _'doing better_ ' dad" he said, exasperated. "I just want to know that you're OK with it. That you're not going to disown me or something." He gave his dad a supportive smile, who returned it weakly.

"Well of course I'm OK with it" he said. "I don't care if you're gay. But... the two of you..." He looked back and forth between James and Teddy. "You've got to understand that this is a bit _weird_ for me..."

"We understand" Teddy said quietly.

"I mean" James's father took another swig of his drink, draining the glass. "The two of you grew up together like brothers."

"But we're NOT brothers" James said harshly.

"We're best friends" Teddy offered in a gentler tone. "And over time that grew into something more."

"Like you and mum" James interjected.

His father considered this, and then shook his head as though trying to clear it. James had to suppress a laugh, as he was sure his father had just imagined an alternate universe in which he had married uncle Ron.

"You know that you've always been like a father to me, Harry" Teddy said seriously. "But that doesn't mean your kids are my siblings. Does that make sense?"

James's father nodded. James felt a wave of relief.

"So we're good?" James asked.

"Hold on" his father said, going to take another drink and realising his glass was empty. James handed him his. "What's this about you two living together?"

"I'm going to move in with Teddy" James said confidently, flashing a smile at Teddy as he did so.

"That's a bit soon, isn't it?"

"Not really, we've been together for 2 years."

"2 YEARS?!"

James's dad turned to Teddy.

" _2 years_? You've been seeing my son and lying to me about it?" He sounded more incredulous than outright angry, but Teddy looked nervous all the same.

"I didn't lie exactly" he said, uncharacteristically timid. "I was intentionally evasive about my love life. Not that you ever really asked."

"Well it's not really my place to - But 2 years?! Jesus, are you keeping any other secrets from me? I am your BOSS you know!"

"Harry" he said indignantly, getting some of his confidence back. "I would never keep anything work-related from you, you know that. Except for the fact that I keep firewhisky in my office. But you know about that now." The corners of his mouth twitched. James could tell his dad was trying not to laugh.

"Do the two of you ever take anything seriously?" He said, exasperated.

"Not really" James grinned. “That's why we're such a good match. Oh and by the way, Teddy smokes."

"Thanks, snitch!" Teddy cried. 

"Hey, he said he wanted to know your secrets" James grinned.

"Well, I'm giving up aren't I? By the way, James rides your broomstick when you're not home" Teddy retorted.

"Hey!" James cried.

"Enough!" James's dad said, holding up a hand again. "Bloody hell, this is not helping your case that you two are mature adults" he said, but in an amused tone. "And we will talk about the broomstick thing later" he said to James, who couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"OK dad" he smiled. "I guess we'll let you get back to work then, yeah?"

"Yeah" his dad sighed, running a hand through his hair wearily.

"Don't work too hard, Harry" Teddy said, getting up and extending a hand to James to help him up. 

The three of them exited the office together, Harry to return to his office and James and Teddy, still holding hands, to go back up to the fireplaces in the atrium.

 


End file.
